Bulls “totally committed” to Buzelis’ development as rookie heads to Windy City
Prior to the Chicago Bulls last home game against the Orlando Magic, head coach Billy Donovan explained why, up until that point, Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis had only accumulated 24 total minutes over the team’s first four games.
As the Bulls announced, Buzelis has been assigned to the team’s G League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls. Despite the rookie having spent last season with the G League Ignite, the Bulls have foreshadowed the potential for Buzelis to play in Hoffman Estates multiple times during training camp. More recently, Donovan hedged on those comments, clarifying that the organization would do whatever it could to help him develop, even put him in the G League if it came to that.
“This idea of taking him and throwing him in there and playing him 25 minutes, I don’t know if that’s the best thing for him,” Donovan said. “He’s got to understand the league and learn. Some of it may be moving down to the G League.”
“We’re totally committed to his development and helping him,” Donovan added. “But people have to understand, at 19 years old, there’s a huge learning curve for him.”
A trip to the G League should not be considered a demotion or punishment by any means. This is a chance to learn the game, adapt to the speed of the game and give him more room to learn on the fly than he’s getting with the big team.
